Beshear warns Kentuckians to exercise caution with potential for major winter storm

Governor Steve Beshear issued a statement Sunday evening asking individuals to “exercise caution” as a forecast major winter storm bears down on the commonwealth.

“The National Weather Service is forecasting a major winter storm in Kentucky, beginning late tonight and continuing Monday and into Tuesday, with projected accumulations of a foot or more of snow in many places,” Beshear said.

In the statement Beshear asked Kentuckians to monitor weather reports Sunday evening and to be prepared for “extreme conditions” Monday.

“That preparation would include keeping travel to a minimum and staying off the road entirely if possible,” he said. “Our highway crews will be out in force but are likely to be hard-pressed just to keep interstates and other high priority routes cleared.

“Frigid temperatures, combined with the risk of becoming stuck in snow, will make for a potentially dangerous situation for travelers. Our first priority must be safety.”

The SOAR, or Shaping Our Appalachian Regions, conference has also been postponed due to the possibility of treacherous weather. Many top officials from around the state including Beshear, Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers and nearly 1,000 other Kentuckians had been registered to attend.

“Our first priority is keeping our citizens safe, and it won’t be safe to have people traveling tomorrow if this storm comes through,” said SOAR Executive Director Jared Arnett. “We will announce a new date as soon as we can.”

About Nick Storm

Nick Storm is the Anchor and Managing Editor of Pure Politics, the only nightly program dedicated to Kentucky politics. Nick covers all of the political heavyweights and his investigative work brings to light issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, like the connection between the high profile Steubenville, Ohio rape and a Kentucky hacker whose push for further investigation could put him in federal prison. Nick is also working on a feature length bio documentary Outlaw Poet: A documentary on Ron Whitehead. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickStorm_cn2. Nick can be reached at 502-792-1107 or nicholas.storm@charter.com.